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Panoply of Shadow
The Panoply of Shadow is a collection of biomagitech artifacts and creatures owned by Shadow's Grace and now reunited with her most recent incarnation, Hayato Takara. Their "leader" is Cid, who can communicate with any of them and is the only one capable of speech. All members have soak values of 10 and hardness of 5 against all attacks, and when on Dax's person they may use his DV and are covered by his Discreet Essence Armor as well. They are all black with black jade and orichalcum reinforcements and trim. Attuning to the entire collection requires 20 motes; 10 for the octopus, 2 for the scarab, 4 for the spiders, and 4 for the owl. Using many their various abilities also requires motes. Bat The bat is incapable of attacks and generally stays in the confines of Dax's cloak until called. It can serve as a Winged Messenger Bauble as normal, traveling up to a mile. However, every night at midnight, it sends or receives one paper message from or to Dax's Lunar Mate, Serentatis. This uses the most advanced and secretive shadow technology and cannot be caught or intercepted when traveling, though writing or reading the note itself can be noticed. Either use requires spending a single mote. Scarab A palm-sized, solid black scarab crawls up to the neck position of its bearer, accompanied by thousands of tiny, silent beetles that coat whatever Dax is wearing with a midnight, metallic sheen. Commitment requires only two motes, which does nothing, but by spending eight motes the beetles spring to life. Dax can command them to attack as a Cape of Deadly Automata (dealing 1L damage per 4 ticks), command them to perform various tasks, or even command them to open up their wings and fly, carrying him. They move quite fast, allowing Dax to fly at his usual running speed. They are utterly silent. Many types of attacks against are useless against the scarabs, as they are a swarm, and the clasp can regenerate them overnight with a few motes. Two Spiders A unique black jade and orichalcum variant of the traditional Black Widow Razors, these spiders specialize in biting a grappled opponent. Any grapple action will automatically provoke a free attack from each. They can also be used as traditional Black Widow Razors, and be commanded to perform various tasks like any other member of the Panoply. They can store poisons just like Cid. Furthermore, they can produce spider silk for one mote per ten feet, which is strong enough to support Dax. Twice as much can support Largo. They have ten dice for any Hide roll. They require two motes apiece to attune. Note that grappled opponents tend to be considerably easier to hit. On their own: Acc 9, Dam 6L + poison As claws: Acc +4, Dam +5L + poison Fox and Cat Two of the more dangerous Reaver Drones in Creation, they were designed to distract and overwhelm opponents that were already dealing with a barrage of attacks from a Chain Daiclaive, as well as more subtle assassination duties. They are fairly small representatives of their species and can rest in the folds of Dax's cloak. They can deliver poison just like Cid or the Spiders. They are independent creatures that do not require attunement. They use the Familiar rules as Shahra; they are mostly stunt material and will not normally be attacked unless I deem it appropriate. They have ten dice each toward hiding or tracking. They have an attack pool around eleven dice, but a base damage of only a single level, mostly damaging through poison. Recently upgraded by Dax in the Maker's Loom, by placing some shark teeth inside along with the Fox and Cat and speaking this incantation: "My ferocious beasts, '' Though potent, could use sharper teeth,'' '' That they may rend steel."'' They now ping at Dax's essence. Parrot Owl Shadow's Grace's parrot owl, a small black winged thing, was designed with the approximate programming of an Ever-Vigilant Guardian. Not armed with the traditional tiny Essence beam associated with the creatures, the owl instead can cause disruptive waves of Essence to emanate from its flapping wings. These waves disrupt attacks, adding 2 to the DV of whoever it is protecting. Unarmed attacks against its owner are met with destructive waves of Essence (an often an angry beak as well) and receive and automatic four dice of bashing damage. If the owl directly tries to attack, it has accuracy 11 and a damage of either 14B or 10L. It has ten dice toward hiding as well as ten dice in its Perception + Awareness pool. It will generally follow familiar rules. Ever-Vigilant Guardians are notoriously high-strung and prone to countering anything resembling an attack, which is sometimes a problem in more diplomatic situations. Cephalopod The cephalopod, which is about midway between a squid and an octopus, appears slightly different in coloration from the rest. It is primarily moonsilver with a considerable amount of orichalcum and black jade plating and scaling, with no external organic parts save the eyes. It was clearly made for Solar use, using some amount of orichalcum in its construction. It can lengthen any of its tendrils considerably, shape them into blades or other devices, and crawl along independently of Dax. It does not have poison. It can protect its owner's skin by wrapping its tendrils around its bearer's flesh, or form blades extending from its bearer's limbs. It can block attacks with its tendrils, which it can do on its own with considerable skill. It can also make independent attacks or even grapple an opponent. The cephalopod is mostly just a biological Quicksilver Aegis Talisman, adjusted for Solar use. Attuning costs up to ten motes. For every two motes committed, the owner can have one of the following: * +2L/+2B soak (maximum +6L/+6B) * +1 DV, shield bonus (maximum +3DV) * +2L damage to independent attacks (must spend at least one point to get attacks) * +2 accuracy on clinch rolls These points can be redistributed reflexively at the beginning of every action. Independent attacks have an accuracy pool of 15 dice. Category:Sunlight on the Water Category:Dax Stormslayer Category:Hayato Takara